Saw this auction…
… and was wondering, is this the only released material that shows the H4 Cover Mask in full? I know most of the posters cut off almost half the mask, so it’s awesome to see it in full.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s an awesome promotional and an awesome collectable and I may bid but… But is there any other resource out that shows the artist rendered mask in full other then the promotional cut out?
Not sure if this is what you’re looking for, but the novelization by Nicholas Grabowsky shows the full cover photo, and is a pretty good read, too!
Not my pic:
Thank you! That’s another great shot.
I’m basically looking for a high def (good quality) photo of the full mask to use as a reference for a custom I am doing. I wish that was in color… I wonder what ever happened to the original art.
I have a new copy of H4 and it has kind of a remastered black and white pic of the cover art on the front. and then it has rain and stuff. reminds me of the art on the RZH2 but instead it has the cover mask. i will grab a pic and edit this post for ya 
Thanks Brother! Appreciate it.
To save you some time… Is this the cover you have?
Thanks man yes thats the one. very interesting art for sure. 
Was the original, unedited version of this photograph ever released? i.e. without the added eyes, neck and collar. That’s something I would love to see.
Mark
Dennis Beckstrom had the Original photo,not sure if he still has it or not though 
Thanks for the info everyone. So it seems it’s safe to say that the cut out is the best example of the full H4 Cover mask, next to the paperback… Will keep that mind about the Original, perhaps send Mr. Beckstrom an inquiry if my search isn’t fruitful.
Personally I’d love even a large sized color jpeg, but I’m guessing I’ll bid anyways since it seems finding a clear high quality color jpg may be impossible to find. The auction is the way to go (even with the “cut out” lines). If I can get it at a decent price, I’ll def take a scan of it and put it on here (my thinking is it won’t detract from the worth of the cut out which holds it’s own value as a promotional collectible…
Side note… It seems that since the mask is a favorite among collectors, a high def image in color without cut outs wouldn’t be too hard to find. The Copyright holder on that design/ artwork is missing out on so much potential income (ie tee shirts, Prints, posters, hats) aside from just using the h4 cover/ original poster… I always loved the mask, and only recently learned that it was in fact a painting representing the original hero. It’s rather fascinating.
Edit:
Cleaned up and darkened the Paper Back Cover…
i have a nag/cover mask jc on the way i will put up pics as soon as i get it…ive been wanting that mask for a long time and now its almost here.
Awesome Ghost! Jealous once again. haha JC’s Nag Cover is very accurate. If I was ever to seek out a H4 grail, that would be my h4 poster mask grail.
Closer to what I’m looking for… haha Merged the soft cover and the cover 4 poster…
Dude I don’t think that cover page needs to be in color, it’s mostly going to be black and white anyway on the mask, maybe some gray and skinnish color on the neck and stuff but again mostly black and white. 
Good point.
What I’m looking for though is the clearest shot. In terms of detail, the color artwork of the h4 poster (high quality scan) is super clear compared to the black and white paper back cover). Colors are cool and all (And I grasp how minimal the mask is) It’s very helpful though to have a high quality scan as a reference when sculpting a H4 Poster mask… There are very minor nuances in the h4 Artwork vs the pb photo, thus it’s critical to have a full version. The only copies I’ve seen other then the ebay listed cut out mask is the Poster/VHS/DVD art which cuts off half the artwork (thus when I saw the cut out, I started looking for the full version and was sort of surprised not to find it, in color). The PB is nice, but it’s not the art work, it’s an awesome photo of the hero (which would be awesome to see the original photo as well, since all copies seem to come off the pb).
Until I can get the cut out mask in the auction or a large sized full jpg of the h4 mask, the combo I posted will suffice (was just for fun (melding the pb and h4 art from the poster which was cut off))…
So is the novel much different from the actual theatrical version?
Dennis doesn’t have that pic no moe.
The way I take it, and who knows I may be wrong, but the H4 Novel is a picture of the hero, and the H4 cover is a painting of that picture.
When lining up the novel and the h4 poster, the mask on the poster had many subtle differences, including the eye cuts on the poster version being slight larger and more defined. I personally prefer the Poster cuts to the photograph, but artistic nitpicks aside, it’s basically the same exact mask (a photo and art rendering respectively). Since it’s an art rendered it will not be 100 percent accurate to the photo.
Lastly, I missed out on the Mask Cutout due to funds going towards a last minute pick up of a Handiboy Deluxe set so if anyone has the full poster Mask in color and JPG please post or PM me!
Hey squidboy I actually agree with your theory here, although I was referring to the actual novel vs. the movie storyline… This IV novel looks like an interesting read.
haha sorry, jumped the gun. I’m wondering that now as well… Does look like an interesting fun read.